New territory
by xurce
Summary: A guild trying to concour a new place, and a young tauren is given the task of guiding the raid. Is she up for the tasks and challenges
1. Chapter 1

In the land of Azeroth in the continent of the Eastern kingdom just off the coast of Booty bay, tiny air bubbles slowly made their way to the surface of the crystal clear water. A calm breeze skidded across the water and danced t through the leaves as it slowly made its way further inland. the air was crisp and clean which brought a taste of mango's to ones mouth. in the distant you could hear the crackling and chanting of the various tribes that inhabited the nearby area. Suddenly the serenity was broken by the crystal clear water splashing side to side as someone emerged gasping for breath.

As the water calmed and settled the feeling of peace slowly returned. Far off on the shore a lone mage stood waiting for the swimmer which has just emerged from the depths of the waters. slowly the mage raised his hand to block the blinding rays of the sun. he stood and waited, shifting his weight from one foot to another as he grew restless from waiting.

"Crimean! Hurry up. We've got to meet everyone in Grom Groll really soon."

Slowly, Crimean started making her way towards the shore. "Tarnack," she struggled to say as she stood up on the beach, " you worry to much. I could probably get to Grom Groll running on foot before you make it there on your mount."

Tarnack smile and shrugged the comment off. "Ill hold you to that then" he said while he handed her sword to her. " You know," he said, " this sword really sucks."

"It's not my fault that OeB wont drop for me."

Suddenly their conversation was broken by a loud horn that could be heard all around the Vale. Tarnack smiled instantly at the distinct call being sounded for he knew what it meant. Crimean looked over at Tarnack with a smirk on her face and slowly nodded her head.  
"Five gold?" he questioned.

"Make it ten."

Tarnack shook his head and smiled at the brawn that Crimean put forth. He walked over to where he had tied his trusty mount to a palm tree that started to sway as the gentle breeze started to grow into a gusty wind. He gently patted his mount and saddled up and Crimean walked over to a clearing on the beach and just stood there watching and waiting. Tarnack ran his hand over the boney exterior of his horse and kicked his heals lightly in the horses side and cantered his way over to where Crimean now stood.

Once again the loud noise was sounded and both of theirs smiles had vanished. Crimean bent low to the ground planting her hands firmly on the ground and pulling her right leg in close to her body as her left leg stretched out far behind her. Tarnack gripped the reigns tightly making the leather squeak from the pressure of his grip. His mount was restless and started swaying from side to side as neither of the two spoke a word.

"first one there gets 10 gold. We cant race up the coast side, its gotta be through the bush. On the sound of the next horn, we race." Tarnack said while squinting at the path he was about to take. Crimean dug her heels deeper into the sand and held her gaze steadily in front of her. No words were spoken from that point on. The two of them waited in silence that was so thick you could cut through it with a knife and see the other half fall down. Like before, the silence was broken by a loud horn, and neither of the two stood there any longer.

Tarnack's horse reared and whinnied and took off leaving dust and sand flying behind him. He could feel the sides of his horse straining as he pushed her harder and harder. He continuously had to duck and dodge the low branches and vines that hung down from almost every tree. He looked back to see Crimean pushing herself as hard as she could. Sweat ran down Crimeans face as she too had to jump over rocks and dodge low hanging branches. Tarnack chuckled to himself at the sight of the tauren warrior trying to outrace someone who was on a mount for a lousy 10 gold. As he turned his head around a blinding pain surrounded his head and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Inside the encampment of Grom Groll there was excitement. Not many people usually were found in the Vale, except those who where questing or traveling and sight seeing. However, on this day the camp was filled with many people. The noise level however was not expected. With so many people you would think the air would be full of noise but the air was calm and quiet. The only noises heard were the slow movements of 20+ mounts, the few coughs and sneezes of a few, and the same horn being sounded once again.

In the distant a noise started to grow louder and more distinct. The guards were restless knowing the alliance had tried to invade them earlier and thinking they were back for another try. They stood at arms ready for any attack that was about to happen. A shape started to emerge from the bushes which brought a smile to their faces. A tauren warrior was running at a full sprint breathing hard as she pumped her arms and legs trying to get to her destination. She looked behind her and with all her might she pushed herself to her limit and sprinted as fast as she could towards the encampment. With the last bit of energy she ran through the gates of the encampment with her arms flailing as she slowed herself to a stop.

Panting and out of breath she stood bent over with her hands on her knees. Sweat rolled down her face into her eyes which stung. Every breath she took was a struggle as it felt like there was something around her waist slowly growing tighter and tighter. After a few moments of trying to recompose herself she looked up to at 20 familiar faces. With her last ounce of strength she gasped, "I won." and with that, she fell backwards laughing and panting harder than she was before.

"How much did you win this time?"

Crimean slowly gained her composure and sat up holding her knees close to her. " A good 10 gold. Damn that was fun." she panted breathlessly.

"That's 10 gold that she shouldn't even get!"

Everyone looked to where the voice had come from. Tarnack slowly walked through the gates of the camp up to the large group holding the reigns of his mount in one hand and his other hand to the side of his head. " I ran into a tree branch and fell off my mount. She kept running and didn't even stop to help me." he stated as he pulled his hand away from his head revealing a fresh cut where dirt and blood clotted together.

"How do you know she even saw you?"

"She jumped right over me."

People everywhere started laughing and poking fun at Tarnack's unfortunate circumstances. Tarnack stood there for a while without any expression on his face until he himself couldn't hold it in any longer and began laughing along with everyone else. Crimean finally caught her breath and stood up and walked over to Tarnack and laid her head on his shoulder which was very uncomfortable seeing as he was almost a foot shorter than her. Eventually the laughter died down and the silence came flooding back. There was something in the air which brought a feeling of tenseness to the entire camp as the large group stood in silence.

A bulky orc maneuvered his mount in front of the group and gracefully hopped onto the ground. As soon as he had done this the rest of the group followed his silent command and dismounted as well. The only thing that could be heard was the rustling of many kodo's tin, slow shifting movements. Raptors throwing their heads side to side waiting to ride. The reigns of many horses dinging against the various metal and bone that surrounded their heads. The slow silent creaking of leather gear as someone shifted their weight from side to side. Cloth armor swaying in the wind while some chain mail made tiny little clangs from the metal hitting metal. It was a sight that was a rare sight to be seen. Twenty people grouped together with one person in the front all standing in silence, waiting.

"Crimean."

"Yes?"

"Set up the groups."

Crimean raised her head from off Tarnack's shoulder and just stood there in silence. She didn't understand what Sorrck, the orc who was standing in front of everyone, was doing. He was the one who set up the groups. He was the one who gave commands and set the rules and strategies. He did all this because he was the leader of this raid. What confused Crimean so much was why he was giving her one of the powers he held as being a raid leader.

"Sorrck, I don't understand. Why aren't you making the groups?"

"Because," he smiled, " I'm not the raid leader this time."


	3. Chapter 3

Crimean stood in disbelief. Inside her mind thousands of thoughts were racing everywhere and clashing together which in turn made her head pound with every thought she had. However, on the outside she looked calm and collected and no one could ever guess the complexity of thoughts she was fighting in her own mind. Eventually Crimean walked to where Sorrck was standing. A tense feeling had surrounded the entire group as she walked towards the front where she now belonged. Every step she made seemed to echo throughout the land like a thunderstorm only beggining to form.

Now standing infront of Sorrck, he placed his hand on her shoulder. Without saying any words he looked her in the eyes like he was looking into her soul. Her rich green eyes looked up into the face of a fierce warrior. His dark brown eyes were small and squinted. His hair was matted to the side of his head from the sweat that slowly ran down the chisled features of his face. He had very strong and well pronounced features and many women swooned over him, especially when he was tense. The anger and ferausity he had surrounding him made him a terrifying enemy to anyone he faced. 

Sorrck stood looking Crimean in the face for what seemed like an eternity but finally nodded his reassurance to her. He slowly let his hand slip off from her shoulder and turned and walked into the ranks of the rest of the group. Crimean stood for a time with her back turned to the group and let out a long heavy sigh. She knew this was her chance to prove herself. She was never given an oppurtunity like this before ever. Like a wave of fire, confidence engullfed her. She turned around to face the group, to face the lives she was about to change. The group stood in silence still but the tense feeling had finally lifted from them. Crimean looked over the faces of those who stared right back at her, and gave them all a reasuring nod as to tell them everything will be fine. Her gaze stopped when she caught a glimpse of something being held up in the back of the group. Slowly the entire raid lifted their weapons in respect to her showing her that they trusted her with their lives.

A new fire burned inside her as she finally knew, nothing would go wrong. She trusted these people with her life and they in turn, trusted their lives on her shoulders. Her moment had come and she would not let anything stop it. As the raid lowered their weapons the air was filled with the clanging of metal being sheathed, staves against leather and the sounds of approval filled the air.

"Ok. Listen carefully. This is new and uncharted territory for all of us but that doesnt mean we cant concour it. All of our DPS I want on the left side, while our casters go to the right side please."

With the greatest of ease the group parted into two halves. Crimean was amazed that they listened with such great ease and no hassle at all. To one side stood the concentrated damage, and to the other stood healers, buffers and even more damage.

"Ok good. Casters, I want all the mages our warlock druid and one shaman to one side of your new group please. Your our Damage group. Our priests and our remaining shaman are our healers. I know we probably dont need five but I want this to be a smooth run. Shamans, if our priests say they're good on mana and heals start to Dps, but when they get low you better start healing as well. I'm the main tank, on boss fights, please dont let me die." she said jokingly to try and lighten the mood. "Sorrck, I want you to be the offtank which means Wartorn, you're going to be Dps and do what you do best. Shone I want you to be the one pulling things. Wonate, if Shone goes down you take his place until he's back up. Mages, keep buffs up at all times. Mistic give buffs to those it would benifit. Priests that goes for you as well. Keep your heads up and pay attention to what I say."

The raid nodded and went into their respective smaller groups. The air grew dense with the weight of uncertantity and anxiety that it was almost difficult to stand straight. Crimean held her head high even though she was carrying the biggest weight of them all. She knew she had to stay strong for the rest of her guild mates. She was the leader, it was her time.

"Look," she sighed, " this is new for all of us. However, we're a strong guild. We have to trust one another and believe that we can take down any challenge that comes our way. Even if we wipe a few times, it's expected. No guild yet has taken down Hakkar, and we're going to be the first. I promise you, and i'll make sure that happens, even if it kills me." 

A loud cheer rose from the crowd and everyone was clapping and cheering. Excitment filled the air. She had done her job so far. She grabbed the reigns of her trusty kodo and gently patted the side of his neck. "This is it boy," she whispered, "This is it." And with that, she mounted and started moving towards the entrance of the gates. She stopped and looked back over her shoulder at the group of people who had just stopped cheering. With a smile on her face she winked and said, "anyone wanna race me?"

With that comment she shoved her heels into the side of her kodo and started racing towards the gates of her destiny. The 19 people remaining cheered as they themselves mounted and started following Crimean to a new battle that awaited them.


End file.
